Stranded humpback whale swims free after four days on German beach

A young humpback whale that was stranded on Germany’s Baltic coast swam free after four days on Friday, March 27.

Rescuers successfully dug a channel to help her back to sea.

The whale, which was 12-15 meters (40 ft), was a young male and was first spotted on Monday, March 23, near Timmendorfer Strand.

Several rescue attempts failed until Thursday, March 26, when a team deployed heavy machinery to dredge a channel through the sand.

As reported by local media, marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann stated that the whale “gathered its strength” overnight and “freed itself by its own efforts” via the newly carved passage.

The animal, which had a skin infection and fishing net scraps in its mouth, was seen showing signs of life on Thursday evening as the rescue team used sounds to provoke the animal to move, and the whale responded with sounds of its own.

On Friday, the whale reached deeper waters in the B ay of Lübeck. A fleet of police, coast guard, and research vessels is now escorting the marine mammal through a complex route past the Danish islands and into the North Sea and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean.

Baltic Sea is not a native environment for humpback whales. Experts believe that the young male was likely migrating, a journey that usually only males of the species undertake.